"One of the main things that we're very excited about is that we're 5-0 right now," Laser said. "We have been working towards that for a while now, and we expect more success in the future."
The men's team secured victories in all but No. 1 singles against Stony Brook University on Saturday and won two out of three doubles matches to set the final score at 6-1 in favor of Dartmouth. Nikita Fomin scored the sole point for the Seawolves in his match against Xander Centenari '13. Fomin also contributed to Stony Brook's only win in doubles with partner Francis Bertrand, but their performance was not sufficient as the teams of Laser and Alex de Chatellus '13 and Centenari and Chris Ho '12 pulled through to secure the lone available doubles point for the Big Green.
Dartmouth followed up with an even more impressive victory on Sunday, when the team swept all its matches against the U.S. Military Academy to finish with a 7-0 score. Co-captain Centenari confirmed that this weekend was a milestone for Dartmouth, adding that not all of the team's top players were able to participate.
"I thought it was a great weekend overall," Centenari said. "A lot of guys who don't normally get to play got to step up, and they really did well. It's good confidence for the team to win so decisively, even without some of the starters. These are both pretty good teams, and we didn't really give them the chance to win many matches."
The Dartmouth women's team played two matches on Saturday against Stony Brook and St. John's University, a schedule that is very unusual, according to co-captain Sarah Leonard '13.
"It was the only doubleheader that I've played here," Leonard said. "We really had to refocus and come out with just as much passion in the second match."
The Big Green's first match of the day came down to the doubles point as the team narrowly beat St. John's, 4-3. Dartmouth faced a great deal of adversity during the match Janet Liu '15 retired from her second singles match, and the Big Green defaulted in No. 6 singles due to numerous player injuries. Dartmouth pieced together a strong comeback later that day, however, sweeping all but one of its matches against Stony Brook to win 6-1. The Big Green women won all six double matches on Saturday, a feat that falls in line with the team's overall mission, according to Leonard.
"One of our goals is to continue to win the doubles point it's so crucial and is often a decisive factor in who wins the match," Leonard said. "We also want to become healthier and nurse our injuries to get everyone back on the court as quickly as possible."
Laser said the men's team has a more results-oriented goal for the season.
"Our goals are lofty, but simple," Laser said. "We want to win the Ivies and be in the top 45 in the country. If you're in the top 45 in the country, you get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. We want to win the League it's what we focus on every day. Our confidence comes from that hard work and preparation."
Both teams are now gearing up for the ECAC tournament on Feb. 17, which will feature several other Ivy League foes. The women will travel to New Haven, Conn. that weekend, while the men will host the tournament at the Boss Tennis Center.
The tournament is one of the most important of the winter season, Centenari said.
"The winter is full of out of conference matches, including the ECAC tournament, where all the Ivy League schools come up here," Centenari said. "It gives us a taste of what the competition is going to be like in the spring."
Before that tournament, however, the men's team will have to survive its next match against Marquette University in Hanover this Sunday.
"It'll be another tough match," Centenari said. "Marquette is a pretty good team, and I think we'll be tested again on Sunday."
